13 to Life: Hungry like theWolf
by awfulreader.tumblr
Summary: (If you haven't read the book series 13 to Life then you seriously should. Also you do not need to read that series to understand this one.) Cassie and her "family" have been raised most of their live in insolation from humans. They are so much more, they are werewolves. But can anyone truly contain the wolf? It's a deadly combination.


Above me the sky splintered into a million pieces, lightning striking the earth and the thunder shaking the trees around me. I glared up at the sky as rain fell harder and harder, soaking my fur down to the bone. I kept my body as low to the ground as possible, weeds tangling around my paws. Ahead Luke shoved through the rough underbrush to make a path. My shoulders ached from running for such long distances but I pushed through it, trying desperately to keep up with Luke. Hearing me whine he slowed down and looked back at me, gold eyes creased with concern. I snapped my jaw and growled trying to convince him that I wasn't hurt, as usual he ignored me.

I stepped up next to him, seeing the view into the valley. It took my breath away every time I saw it. The rain drenched down, covering the valley in a translucent current. Luke's side brushed mine. His thick rust colored fur was speckled with dark brown hid the strong lean muscle underneath. He was a tank and force to be reckoned with. He shook off the rain and nipped playfully at me. I jumped back biting playfully back. We took a second to be ourselves and let the duties that rested on our shoulders slip away.

Luke pointed his snout back to the west, telling that we should head back to the bunker. We quickly looped back around, sprinting around the last edges of our territory in case of anything sneaking towards our home. I tasted the air, breathing it in deeply and searching through the million different scents. Nothing alarmed me. I growled and plunged ahead of Luke into the thick Colorado forest, closer to home with every step.

What was home? To most it meant a nice house with parents to welcome them home. To me it was a cement building with a large front field surrounded by ten-foot fences topped with barbwire. I rushed up to the bunker, trying my best to hide my limp. Luke gently nuzzled my side while we waited for the gate to buzz open. The annoying buzz pierced my sensitive ears and swung open. I ran forward through the gates and across the manicured field into the building. Before I went farther than the front door, I changed back to my human shape, my fur disappearing back inside my skin. The change only lasted a few seconds and I'd grown to accustom to the pain that came with it. I stood tall and stretched my arms above my head, cracking the joints and testing my shoulder. It twanged painfully but I ignored it, the simple sprain would fade in an hour. Luke shifted next to me; in human form he was nearly six-foot, which was a head taller than me. His skin was tan from hours spent training outside, and his hair was shaved close to his head on the sides and the back. I grabbed a set of clothes from the cubby that was set next to the doorway for us. All of our clothes looked the same, plain white form-fitting tees and brown ankle-length cargo pants.

This section of the bunker was a single hallway without any doors or windows that lead to a check-in room that monitored our comings and goings. We crossed through, waving politely at Melinda who jotted down the time next to our names. From this point we basically had free range of the building. I could hear the shouts and yelps of excitement from down the hallway as we walked towards the common room. The pups were wrestling back and forth, biting furiously at each other until the other backed down. I leaned against the doorway waiting for them to notice our return. The smaller pup, youngest of our small pack was my biological brother Jason. His fur was dark black, identical to mine but his eyes glowed blue mixed with the wolfs' ruby eyes. The larger pup was Zana, her fur was dark cocoa-brown that matched her skin tone. Luke laughed as she pinned Jason down on his back, he tried to push her back and claw at her stomach but she managed to kick his legs to the side away from her soft underbelly.

"Alright, alright!" I snapped. "That's enough." They both looked up in surprise, they'd been too absorbed in their own fight to notice us. They switched back to their forms, comfortable in their bare human skins. I grabbed Jason's abandoned clothes and tossed them to him. I reached forward and grabbed his chin, turning him to look me in the eyes. "Even if you are in a fight keep your senses open to other wolves around you." I said in a low voice. He nodded shyly. He was only twelve, soon he would be considered a full grown wolf and be allowed to run daily with Luke and I. The thought of my baby brother running with us out in the valleys made my heart plummet. Outside of the bunker was danger, I'd been taught of hunters and revile wolves and people who'd want to capture us for their own selfish uses. The bunker was safe.

"Cass," Luke said my name behind me. I turned and saw Luke standing with Doctor Raymar. The doctor was new to the bunker, he'd only recently traveled here in order to help us and to replace Doctor Henry. I strutted towards the doctor, my head up and boldly meeting his eyes. Luke snickered behind him, obviously not impressed by my attempt to make my dominance clear. I glared at him. Why did he always have to undermine me like that?

"Cassie," The doctor nodded his head at me, his eyes lowered to the floor. Obviously he'd been well trained on how to act around werewolves.

"Doctor." I said coldly. I looked back over my shoulder at Jason and Zana as he led Luke and I away.

We silently walked down a maze of halls and rooms that I was familiar with, I'd spent most of my life here at the bunker. I probably could have led the doctor on a leash through these halls. I snickered as he struggled to find the right room for our daily exams. After every routine run we were meant to come back to the office for exams on our vitals and reactions. The nurses and other doctors crowded around me, swarming over Luke like mosquitos drawn to fresh blood. I growled as they pricked me with needles and shots. As they muttered around me I glared. I hated when they talk about me as if I'm not here. Luke and I met eyes as they ran around us pinching and poking.

A woman strutted into the room, her bright red pumps clicking on the sterile tiles. Her lab coat fluttered open around her tight black blouse and black slacks. She smiled as she walked in, silencing the room. Doctor Raymar jumped up, his hand outstretched to the woman. I eyed her wearily; something about her rubbed my fur the wrong way. She acted like the alpha in the presence of a wolf, big mistake on her part. The sheep shouldn't hide in wolfs fur, I thought to myself grinning. She breezed past the doctor with a polite hello and headed straight towards Luke. He stiffened slightly head cocked as she approached.

"You must be Luke," the words rolled off her tongue like honey, and she placed a manicured hand on her cocked hip.

"Yes, and you are?" He said.

"Doctor Jones." She reached a hand towards him. Luke's lips twitched into his signature lazy smirk, one corner raised a bit higher than the other. I rushed went through my veins, the wolf inside me snarling. I jumped up from my examining table, sending the nurses around me scattering.

"I'm Cass." I snapped. I hated being ignored, and hated it even more when another member of my pack was introduced before me. Doctor Jones slowly turned her eyes to me and smiled blandly.

"Oh yes, I've heard a lot about both of you." She nodded to me but didn't bother reaching for my hand. Big mistake on her part. I leaped forward between Luke and her, my mouth filled with razor sharp canines and I snapped close to her face. She stumbled back her hands flying up to push me back. I stepped away from her grinning with triumph. Maybe that'll teach her some manners, I thought. Laughing I looked back at Luke. His lips curled a low deadly growl, only hearable to my ears, made my skin crawl. I huffed and tossed my hair over my shoulder, he can be a stick in the mud if he wants.

Doctor Jones brushed off her lab coat and ignored me completely from that point on. I leaned back against the exam table picking my long nails, listening in as she talked to Luke.

"I was reading your case file and saw that you asked The Institute for more territory and free range running. And while I absolutely understand your desire to have more space to stretch your legs, especially since you're growing, I hope that you understand why they said no."

Luke sat stone still. To her it might have seemed as if he were indifferent, but I could tell that his hopes were being slowly crushed with every word she said. No more territory, no extra freedom? Sure, we were blessed to be safe here, that's what the doctors always told us but we wanted just a little bit more. I looked down at my bare feet… I knew they'd say no. It stung but mostly I felt bad for Luke, he'd been talking about finally running down into the valley and splashing in the river we always saw but never could go near. I scratched at the small bracelet around my ankle, the red LED light blinked sleepily up at me.

"But!" Doctor Jones cheered, she leaned towards him and smiled broadly. "I have a proposition for you and your pack." I huffed at her choice of words. _His _pack? Not likely. "For a few weeks you could come to a small town and do some work for my company. There's another group of rouge wolves that stole something from my company, we would like for you to retrieve it for us."

My eyebrows arched in surprise. A deal? A trip away from the bunker? Yes, yes, yes! My mouth opened to quickly agree but Luke cut me off.

"What's in it for us? If you want us to work for you you're going to have to sweeten the deal." He smirked, waiting for her to accept the challenge. There was only one answer him and I both wanted and Doctor Jones better get it right. She paused, swallowing thickly before smiling kindly at us.

"Well, you want more room to run don't you? At Johnstown you can have all the free range you want, as long as you are working. And when you came back you can have the extra space you requested. While in my company's care we will pay for your housing and necessities, also a few extra fun things on the side. Also you will be attending public school for the first time to blend in with the public." She grinned and crossed her arms, watching us absorb all the opportunities.

Luke bobbed his head. "Yes, we'll do it." We glanced at each other in awe. Could this really be happening? The nurses and doctors that had watched us grow up for most of our short lives smiled and congratulated us. Our first job and so much more. I couldn't contain my excitement, I tipped back my head and howled hearing Luke join in.


End file.
